here. a devastating fertilizer factory explosion in texas up to fifteen people loved it and over one hundred sixty a we did the massive blast like into a nuclear bomb leveled buildings a full blown blocks in every direction. in what's become a dog week for the united states in boston the images are released which could show the suspects behind the marathon bombings while an envelope laced with toxic wants and is sent to president obama. at six pm here in moscow are you live with us on our two with me to say this all will bring it to you the latest developments in the u.s. state of texas where a massive blast has ripped through a fertilizer plant police say up to fifteen people have been killed and at least

one hundred sixty injured but emergency crews fia as many as seventy may have died . during the break i gave. you the explosion had the force of a minor at the break and destroyed several buildings then ceiling relays are spread to nearby apartment blocks and fire at the plant is now under control but several firefighters and police officers did officials have shut down the whole supply and evacuated half the town amid concerns that another fertilizer tank at the facility could blow up because of the tragedy is not yet known police say will begin an investigation once a rescue operations are over that so far there's no evidence of foul play out he's among the injured that the. mayor of new. that's texas to us just

to confirm some of the facts of the disaster that we've seen here sixty homes have been damaged in this explosion presumed those are the homes that are closest to the blast site we were in town just a few minutes earlier and saw that there were several other businesses which also sustained some damage to the windows which were blown out it is still a search and recovery situation we try to get as close to the fed as we could police putting a radius of about a mile around the site which is still considered to be dangerous for people to approach however about half of the town of twenty six hundred people have been evacuated so far but the mayor gave a dire assessment of the extent of the damage here today and even before that when he was trying to describe the scene of the explosion he described it as a as a nuclear blast we've seen other first responders call it you know compared to iraq

and one witness who i spoke to earlier this evening said that when he showed up at the scene. row of houses that were nearest to the fertilizer plant were not even recognizable they had been leveled down to pretty much just rubble and garbage and we had a conversation with the spokesman of a local hospital where patients are receiving treatment you mentioned the casualties i just want us to listen to what he had to say i had our facility we are one of the receiving. the trenches from the from the blast right now we have seen sixty five patients one of which is critical the majority of the ones we have seen his hands variety of broken bones head injuries in a lot of the man's hands and hider samone change the location from the from the fertilizer plant we have had a massive. response from our medical our doctors our nurses are written for

service in the end they have been able to freakin released most of the one students who have had the exposure to the to the mound yet we have had twelve admissions of the sixty five patients we've seen there had been law enforcement agencies and cursors foreigners coming from throughout the state of texas to respond to this emergency so i can tell you i was there i walked through the blast area search some houses earlier tonight massive just like iraq just like the murray building in oklahoma city same town and exploded so you can imagine what kind of damage we're looking out there. i know that was at least seventy five to fifty fifty to seventy five houses damaged there's apartment complex that has about fifty units in it that was completely. just skeleton standing and there's

a nursing home in the area that one hundred thirty three people in the nursing home we've got them evacuated i don't know what their injuries are are there right now but all injuries have been removed from the scene and taken to local hospitals in the waco area we had numerous agencies helping us all the way from the dallas fort worth area mclennan county stone field boss key and all the surrounding areas so we've had a great turnout. to come out to help us get through this tragedy that we've had in this small community. the explosion at the texas fertilizer plant has highlighted shortcomings in the u.s. system of industrial risk management the fertilizer plant reported that it only held around twenty four kilograms of and hydro ammonia far less than the twenty tons believed to have ignited and the report stated no end of file explosive rist there is a possible scenario in visitor was a ten minute release of ammonia gas but without any casualties but this blow to

shoot houses all around eighty kilometers away resulting into a rising number of injuries and deaths ark washington correspondent says safety at the plant there had been questioned before. this fertilizer plant that exploded in west texas on wednesday night was fined by the environmental protection agency in two thousand and six full failing to have a risk legend plans that met federal standards so that was back in two thousand and six according to the e.p.a. a risk management plan is designed to ensure a chemical accidents don't happen by having safeguards in place to prevent them according to construction permits submitted a november that year this company west fertilizer valid still need all the standards expected for and i had. ammonia storage tanks and he was one of those tanks that blew up this one saying i get the bad news is the way it is the toxic chemicals that it's spreading around the area many of those surveyed hospitalized

suffered from ammonia and malaysia here's what experts say about the spread of those toxic chemicals were fertilizer as we know is extremely combustible so it's been used in bombs and so it's manufacture is extremely delicate and can easily if handled wrong or if handled and safely can lead to explosion so we have to assume at this point that it's such a chemical explosion that's happened there at the plant when you're handling chemicals like this there is a possibility that there can be chemical contamination that could that would need to be cleaned up in the aftermath of the explosion so they'll undoubtedly be extensive monitoring of the areas around the plant in order to make sure that whatever chemicals have been spread around can be cleaned up to reduce future toxicity to the residents with the kinds of winds that blow in such big intense fires there will be airborne distribution. so there's nothing that can be done

while the event just happening what will be done is is assessment and cleanup in the aftermath currently people are being evacuated because of the dangers to for further explosions for fire to spread and also for spread around of some of the chemicals from the plant however those will almost certainly be deposited close to the plant and it will be possible to get in there make assessments and do cleanup of the area in the future so those are the primary dangers. the tragedy in texas has highlighted a risk management failures in the u.s. are raising the question of the threat posed by aging infrastructure right let's cross now to new york with marina live there who's going to talk to us a little bit about who's been reporting in america's distress in week so far marina we have reports on regulation inspectors and agencies to control such sensitive facilities like this what's being done to heighten up safety.

the problem is that nothing is being done and it is no secret that america's crumbling infrastructure is considered the most dangerous domestic circumstance lurking in every corner of the country for many many years the american society of civil engineers has given the u.s. grade d. plus when it comes to its infrastructure and there's many reasons that the first first and foremost is because the u.s. is not investing in fixing its infrastructure its bridges its tunnels its airports its security system environmentalists also are saying that safety inspectors are going in and inciting certain facilities such as the one we're seeing in texas with failing grades for not having the appropriate risk management plans in place or not having the right upgraded systems but critics say that the government officials come in and the companies the facilities still don't do anything to change change the problems that were cited look whether it's what we're

talking about in texas now with this fertilizer plant or what we're talking about in arkansas last month with an oil pipeline burst and what we're talking about last last year with the new york city going dark with hurricane sandy we've seen bridges collapse we've seen what happened in new orleans this is a problem that is permeating throughout the u.s. year after year and while washington has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in domestic security such as you know c.c.t.v. cameras such as the department of homeland security such as upgrading equipment for law enforcement officials that comes under the umbrella of national security washington says but this crumbling infrastructure and the lack of inspectors following up to make sure that corporations actually fix the problems in place change out and swap out old pipelines carrying crude oil unless washing. goes that

far and actually invest it's funding it up creating the most important structure of this country nothing is going to change and we're going to see circumstances happening like this on a consistent basis look at texas right now looks looks as though a nuclear bomb exam was exactly what it was going to all students marina is that we've seen that massive explosion in texas and of course the recently the boston met the marathon bombings i let's talk a little bit about that how fall way all in terms of investigating and catching the perpetrator or perpetrators all that mess of bombing well what what federal officials say so far is that they are zeroing in on finding a man who was that they saw in surveillance video that dropped a bag shortly before the bombs ignited those twin bombs ignited so this man according to investigators were seen on video dropping

a bag and that bag presumably maybe carried one of the two bombs but clearly there's a widespread investigation and i'm sure there's a lot of information that investigators federal officials local officials are not disclosing just yet they're being very careful they don't want to say too much u.s. president barack obama is in boston for a memorial service at the moment but it's it's been quite a dark week for the united states you know in texas we see a scenario where looks like a nuclear bomb was set off and then in boston it was similar to an i.e.d. bomb you know set off or one that you know iraq and afghanistan is quite familiar with so clearly a very difficult week for the united states and the president of the united states . speaking of the president the more war that those poisonous mail was sent to the president and some of his officials what do we know about that.

that's right according to two officials including secret service and the f.b.i. there was a letter that was sent to president obama but it was intercepted on tuesday and letter allegedly had a rice in in it which is poisonous ingredient and in addition to that there's also been reports that at least two u.s. senators both republicans received suspicious mail which turned out to be. containing also mail that contained rice in it which tested positive for that rice and i think if i'm not mistaken the letter sent to president obama preliminary test said that the rice and was was actually there in the letter and then they have to send it off to a lab for further testing but that's not something that was painted clearly by members in washington to happen so quickly after the twin bombings

that took place in boston that claimed the lives of at least three people and left more than one hundred seventy people hospitalized from every corner right now we are seeing a lot of. you know cautious and dangerous things happening to two innocent civilians and going up as high as the president of the united states lots of threatening events happening all right ok of america will have to leave it right there that's marina in new york who just giving us just how close i know that two weeks america is facing right now a really dark week the right to the explosion timing is reminding some people of america's most appointment to human tragedies the mid april seen bomb a chemical plant explosions and a siege is thomas look back on the events which have caused a dull cloud over america's spring. but let's look at the eerie timing of this you have the waco siege which ended on april nineteenth seventy four people killed in

a very significant very big fire reminiscent of the images that we're seeing seeing that was the culmination of a fifty day standoff between a.t.f. agents and the branch davidian david koresh he set the complex on fire killing himself and these seventy three others to end of that that was twenty years ago almost to the day one day shy of that then two years later so eighteen years ago in oklahoma city bombing the federal building the murrayfield are building there also happened on this date and kind of eerie as well the sixty sixth anniversary exactly to the day of the texas city texas fire and explosion which killed twelve hundred people that was at a month's santo chemical plant that was in a town very near to houston so very significant timing and very eerie as well when it comes to the day. and we've been getting some sciences views on what could have

caused the explosion at the fets lies a plant in texas professor christopher busby from the european community under radiation says there's more behind this blast. and hydrocele monia on its own would not be able to produce the kind of devastation that we hear is occurring over there it seems much more likely to me that like the other money i'm not great plant explosions in history particularly the one in one hundred twenty one in germany and there was one also in texas in one hundred forty seven is somehow the ammonium nitrate itself the fertilizer material that is produced by this foam to explode it now it's quite easy to detonate ammonium nitrate in fact ammonium nitrate was used in the war as am a tall as a as a war explosive and ammonium nitrate is a constituent of many explosives now so i do it for the photo to start off with i don't i don't think that this was caused by an ammonia on harder simonyan ammonia tank exploding although probably that would have exploded. when the main explosion

took place but of course ammonia itself is very toxic it's it's it's a respected tree irritant and it would cause lots of serious to respond to treat track problems but then of course it's also produced when ammonium nitrate itself is heated up so if you heat ammonia nitrate to about three hundred fifty degrees it dissociates into ammonia and nitrite acid and so these two things would be quite toxic fumes or anybody inhaling them but are as i say i don't think that that that i don't think that that could be the cause of the level of explosive force that we have seen here i mean something very much larger has happened here. right outlined seem to have been closely following the tragedies is the beginning of lining up footage from eyewitnesses gauging twenty reaction and pictures from the scene at the r.t. dot com to keep across developments minute by minutes. also to

come a washington a reef using to recognize the newly elected leader in venezuela will be you have to visit him in on the u.s. involvement in the post-election prices and the oil rich. well. science technology innovation all the least of elements from around russia we've got the future covered.

internationally in the very heart of moscow. thanks for staying with us you're watching r t washington is not yet ready to recognize the results of venezuela's presidential election that's according to u.s. secretary of state john kerry in sunday's polls in the oil rich nation saw the designated a of a good job as nicolas maduro won by a razor thin majority prompting large scale rallies across the country both for and

against his victory mean all that as well as the supreme court has ruled that there is no legal basis full recount which has demanded which was demanded by majoris opposition rival and the u.s. the newly elected president also claimed that washington's been trying to destabilize when his well i'm so she all of the professor dr william robinson says this is nothing new when it comes to you was a tactics in the region. this is a new tactic on the part of washington to talk to the owner not in charge to go to the board of the new things where the opposition and general. the far right in latin america which aligns with washington the idea is you have an all out to stables and this civilization campaign this is simply another tactic within that campaign there's been diplomatic isolation economic sabotage our military activity the time to put it in two thousand and two the massive us financing for the internal opposition including for property rights and for the organizations that he represents and so we see this very often when there's all the action which is very

close and when the united states wants to get rid of a government in this case from a do it with little governments around an election it will launch violence and trying to create chaos and instability and the united states will not recognize the results and this is really at least of this is an incredible hypocrisy on the part of u.s. foreign policy because mexico just had elections in which there was massive fall because mexico's a close ally of the united states is the us immediately work recognizes the results of a new group of joy just by opposition that therefore the research has no moral authority whatsoever to talk about the going to sort of them elections and challenging times and many turn to the church of for solace and support about him bracha on the growing number of aids he has has led to the creation of an essential new congregation in which religion is taken out of the equation possible it does point to some of the number leave us about what drives some to use the house of god anyway. if you want to britain's growing number of atheists

a sunday morning might present itself as an opportunity to just sleep in and relax on through all the snow sunday mass to attend well not exactly more and more of london's atheists are waking up on a sunday morning and going to church i miss him. so much i couldn't. work. for you but there's no talk of saints or sinners him possibly saying to the same. posture we shall cause she was saying it's my. right you want the. world and living better in the sunday assembly sense of the term features singing i. don't say. moralistic tales told by stand up comedian i don't think that takes all probably takes a lot because it gets into our very basics of what we need as humans like being

welcoming is a really big part the thing i like is our main page because we don't want to copy a course that has to be done. by notions that like we're forgetting sometimes to be well since its launch london as it's been clamoring to attend with more known washed up has turning up and can fit into the venue i was relieved. to see you do you assume a lot of that i was going to be coming to see a soldier he was foolish enough to apply to show. up the next quarter of brits now describe themselves as having no religion and that figure is going up by three courses of a million annually at the same time christianity is losing more than half a million follow as a year with trends as they are the number of atheists is set to overtake the number of chris. by twenty thirty congregations are getting older and older and

i think we're getting now to the stage where the second generation is a people who just never been in a church more and more people are finding that the church is not relevant and particularly where we have the leaders of churches taking positions on women's rights and on on gay rights which are choke clear variance from what the majority of people in the congregation think but these modern day atheists to still seeking out some sort of spiritual solace over we were really shocked at how many people were here and we weren't expecting this number of people and i think it says something about how you feel that was easy for you because they're looking for something like you know would be interesting to kind of be in a group of people. having a chat about how to live our lives which you don't kind of get except in hopes that i mean in a church for

a few years there's time ago but i could not cross the cross except for the first aid cross here that's the only one it seems the part i think just because you don't believe in god doesn't mean that you don't want to hear really interesting to think about improving yourself to sing with others and then to have a cup of tea with people at the end i mean this is really all the best things about church well the one thing which i'm uncomfortable with which is the religion part fourteen point one million brits now describe themselves as faithless a label that these known washed up as feel comfortable celebrating. artsy london. well closely watch what's happening in texas following the massive blast at the fertilizer plant there with extensive up to date coverage on the way and online at our teen dot com i'll be back with more news in about thirty minutes in the meantime a modern. a gold watch in colombia. more

news today vorlon says once again flared up. these are the images cobalt has been

seeing from the streets of canada. showing corporations are on the day. the music of the international airport in the very heart of moscow.

thanks for. the good of you and northern colombia. beneath these rusty.